New Game Minus: The Complete LitRPG Fantasy Trilogy

by Sarah Lin

  Without warning, someone stood in their path and he realized that he'd neglected someone: Marrin was standing in their way. Her knives nearly caught Gharavi, but Izzy tackled her to the side, pushing her clear. Bloodwraith readied his sword and prepared for a fight, but to his surprise, Danniah raised a hand to stop him.

  "She's mine," Danniah said firmly. "Don't worry about us, just keep going to stop the Outsider."

  Bloodwraith didn't want to leave Danniah to fight a Level 25 warrior alone, but she seemed so determined. And besides, she was correct: what was most important was to get through the forest and stop their ultimate opponents. Marrin was just a tool in the end.

  Nodding to her, he moved on. Marrin tried to move to attack him, but Danniah rushed in from the side, her shield releasing a wall of flame. The attack took Marrin off guard, sending her stumbling backward, and Bloodwraith rushed past her. Though he glanced back once to see the two of them facing off, all he could do was continue on and stop Alan.

  Before they reached the prison, he spotted someone else running ahead: Belkarin. The Aesidh glanced back at them and hissed before sliding to a halt to face them.

  "So you finally caught up, with your pathetic wolves and mismatched allies." Belkarin drew his sword and thrust it forward. "I've wanted to kill you anyway, ever since you tried to make a mockery of me, so it might as well be now."

  "No." Gharavi stepped forward, raising her staff. Bloodwraith shot her a glance and she met his gaze for only a moment. "Let me do this, Bloodwraith."

  When she stared at Belkarin, there was such hatred in her eyes that he was taken aback. He realized that to her, Belkarin wasn't just an Aesidh, he represented all of the Outsiders who had tormented Gharavi over the years. Though he wanted to help her, he could acknowledge the truth: this was her fight.

  Leaving them behind, Bloodwraith rushed forward with the sound of spells sizzling behind him. This one bothered him more, since he wanted to be sure Belkarin was dead, but he would have to trust Gharavi. Besides, he was so close to the prison, it couldn't be far now...

  Soon after, he finally spotted it: a clearing that he had not seen since he stepped into the Forest of Beginnings so long ago. Despite the battle raging behind him and all the damage done to the forest, the clearing was still a perfect space of dappled sunlight, like it was more a picture than a real place. Perhaps it was just an illusion. But what mattered was that just across it, there was an old stone tower, the ancient door leading to the prison...

  An enormous hand reached down and swatted Bloodwraith away from the door.

  Bloodwraith skidded across the ground, digging a furrow through the forest floor and breaking through a tree before he slammed to a halt against another. The entire front side of his body ached, but he'd kept his grip on his sword. Grimacing, he forced himself to his feet and looked upward.

  An enormous Keeper loomed over the prison, drawing power from it. His eyes glowed pure white as he glared down. "You are not the adventurer we were looking for! If you insist upon ruining the tapestry of our world, you must be destroyed!"

  With that, the giant Keeper raised his hands, magic glowing around them. Bloodwraith hefted his sword and charged.

  ~ ~ ~

  At first, Danniah's only goal had been to hold off Marrin long enough for Bloodwraith and the others to keep going. The dark-clad woman was a dangerous fighter and had those magical poisoned daggers, which meant she was a serious threat. Danniah's job was to protect everyone, so of course she needed to step in and confront her.

  But as Danniah ducked underneath another swiping dagger and swung back at her opponent, she realized that it was more than that. She wanted to win. As she saw Marrin dance back from her strike with a smirk, Danniah realized just how much she wanted it.

  "That's very noble of you, staying back to slow me down." Marrin smirked at her, whirling her daggers around her hands flashily. Her smirk wasn't nice at all, not like Meara. "Is that what you intend to do your entire life? Sacrifice yourself for others?"

  "I'm not sacrificing myself!" Danniah wanted to attack, but she knew that every second the other woman was talking was a second she couldn't pursue Bloodwraith.

  "I'll admit you seem a bit stronger, but you still don't have a chance." Marrin licked along one of her knives and it glowed with green mana, as if new power had been imparted to it. "I have decades of experience and I've been empowered by the people who rule our world. Whereas you? You're even worse than Elleane, basically a child playing at being a knight."

  "If you're so confident, why do you keep yapping?"

  At that, Marrin stopped smirking. "Alright, little girl. If you want to die, I'll end you now!" She spun her daggers back into combat position...

  And as soon as she started spinning them again, Danniah lunged forward, throwing out her shield and launching another wave of flame. Yet even trying to take her opponent off guard, Marrin was just too fast, dashing to the side before the flames could reach her, then lunging in with her daggers flying.

  Danniah blocked the first several with her shield and swung with her mace. Just like in their first battle, Marrin redirected and tried to stab at her exposed arm, but this time Danniah was ready. She pulled her shield to the side rapidly, managing to strike Marrin's shoulder with it. Yet slender as she was, the other woman only grunted and staggered, then attacked again.

  As Danniah desperately tried to block, Marrin danced around her, daggers flashing. Even fueled by magic, most of them just scraped off her armor, but she felt the power of a few of them bite through and open cuts on her skin. But these were trivial, she had endured far worse. She just needed to hold on until she could land a solid blow...

  When Marrin leapt over her head to stab from behind, Danniah knew that it was her moment. She had grown used to opponents taking advantage of her height, so her body began to turn even faster than her mind could command it. Even as Marrin started to land, Danniah was already swinging her mace, flames kindling around it.

  Her blow connected with her opponent's solar plexus, sending her flying and smashing into a tree. As Marrin dropped, clutching her chest, Danniah charged her with a yell, swinging her mace.

  Yet Marrin reacted with startling speed. She should have been disabled by taking such a blow, yet somehow she hadn't even slowed down, moving in a series of stabs that Danniah couldn't possibly block. Her helm deflected the fatal cuts, but others rained down on her arm, knocking the mace from her fingers.

  The flurry of stabs ended with Marrin simultaneously stabbing her in the chest and the shoulder, pinning her shield in place. Danniah grimaced in pain: her breastplate was too thick for that dagger to cause more than a minor flesh wound, but the other one was embedded deep in her shoulder. Though the pain was intense, she was more focused on the smirk on Marrin's face.

  "That's it... do you feel the poison flowing into you?" She pushed both her knives in further, drawing another grunt from Danniah. "I don't know how you purchased the antidote before, but you won't get a chance this time. I'll stab you until I see all the hope go out of those eyes..."

  But though Danniah felt a burning in her shoulder, it wasn't the pain of the poison. It was as if fire flowed through her body as it resisted. Yes, she had been stabbed, but that wasn't enough to stop her. Danniah knew that she wasn't the strongest or the smartest, but she was tough.

  She lifted her free hand, grabbing Marrin by the throat. The other woman had a moment to look shocked before Danniah slammed her into the ground. Marrin let out a cry of pain and clawed at her arm, but her fingernails scraped off the armor and so Danniah hammered her into the ground, over and over again.

  When Marrin at last dropped, Danniah hefted her shield with both hands, driving the bottom edge down into the other woman's neck.

  Yet without warning, Marrin dissolved into a spinning whirlwind of limbs, purple light glowing around her hands. Danniah felt magic cutting into her body and fell back... but only one step. As Marrin spun rapidly, launching more blows, Danniah
didn't give way: instead she stepped in and pushed her shield forward.

  The burst of force sent Marrin flying backward through the forest. Though the dark-clad woman managed to land on her feet, she was bloodied and no longer smirking. Her hands were empty, yet she twisted them in a strange motion and glowing purple knives appeared in them.

  Danniah didn't have any fancy moves like that. She just reached up and tugged the knife out of her breastplate, then the other out of her shoulder. As she dropped them to the ground, she felt the injuries slowly healing, a burning in her flesh that she welcomed. Reaching down, she picked up her mace and prepared to end the fight.

  This time, Marrin wasn't overconfident and didn't rush in. They circled each other carefully, Marrin occasionally lashing out and Danniah using her shield to ward off the blows. Once she tried to use another wall of flame, but Marrin somehow cut through it with her new knives.

  Then all at once Marrin lunged in, ducking underneath her counterattack. Danniah was shocked for a moment, having never seen an opponent go lower than her before, yet somehow Marrin bent nearly to the ground before lunging up, knife flying at her face.

  Crying out and falling back, Danniah struggled to regain her balance as Marrin pursued her, stabbing again. There was blood running down the side of her face, covering one eye within her helm. Worse, those knives were still flashing out, each stabbing through her armor and opening another wound.

  She was tough, but she wasn't this tough. Danniah managed to land a blow in Marrin's side, but it only pushed her back for a moment before the other woman rushed in again. Was this as far as she could go?

  Even as the knives came at her, Danniah tried to look beyond, into the forest. She couldn't see them, but she could only hope that the others had gotten through. If they managed to stop the Outsiders and prevent them from ruining the world, then it was worth it. Anything was worth it.

  There was something moving in the forest, though.

  Immediately Danniah changed strategy. She charged in with her shield, managing to slam it into Marrin's chest. But this time she didn't aim to knock her opponent away, but instead kept pushing forward, driving her backward until she slammed into a tree. Marrin stabbed over Danniah's head into her back, but Danniah grimaced and slammed her back again.

  The next time the knives came down, Danniah dropped both her shield and her mace and reached up, grabbing Marrin's wrists. Though the other woman was bloodied and beaten, she was still shockingly strong. She managed to drive Danniah back several paces, then she began pushing her arms downward, overcoming Danniah's strength and moving those mana daggers closer and closer to her face.

  "You see? This is how it ends!" Marrin grinned maliciously at her. "For all your struggling, you just aren't strong enough. I'll admit you came close, but you don't have what it takes. I have the advantage in power, speed, and experience."

  "That's true, but I have one thing you don't: I have friends."

  Marrin stared at her. "Was that an attempt at a distraction? Are you really so naive?"

  "Sorry, I'll try again: I have friends in tactical positions."

  For an instant Marrin looked shocked, then Izzy's jaws snapped shut.

  The ghoul had been creeping into position and gone in for the kill as soon as Danniah effectively immobilized Marrin. Now she bit straight through the back of Marrin's neck. Marrin made a strange choking sound and then collapsed to the ground.

  Danniah was bleeding from countless wounds and her entire body ached, but she reached down to pick up her mace again, then brought it down on the other woman's head. Then she sagged on her feet, nearly collapsing. Though she was healing, she had pushed past her limits and it would take more than her toughness to recover.

  Abruptly her shield was put under her arms, allowing her to use it to prop herself up. Izzy grinned at her cheerfully. "Danniah! Good job!"

  "You too, Izzy." Danniah tried to reach for one of her potions, but her arms felt too limp. Izzy assisted her with that too, pulling off her helm and helping her drink it. The rush of healing magic helped her feel better, though she was still exhausted.

  Unfortunately, she couldn't afford to sit down and rest. The sounds of the battle were growing louder and when she looked up, she realized that it was spilling out from the destroyed area into the forests. It seemed that throwing all the undead wolves into the battle had completely broken the lines of combat, leaving both sides scattering wildly.

  Looking in concern, Izzy patted Danniah on the shoulder. "Stay here, Danniah. I'll protect you this time."

  All she could do was nod. There were several glowing adventurers rushing toward them and she didn't feel up to fighting them, but Izzy was still fresh. She dashed out between her opponents, knives and teeth flashing. Limbs fell severed from the adventurers and massive bites disappeared from their bodies, leaving them devastated in seconds.

  Silent as the grave, the Fellsilvered dragon dropped out of the sky. Its enormous jaws lunged down and swallowed Izzy whole.

  For a moment Danniah stared in horror, then she let out a scream and charged.

  Chapter 35

  The enormous hand glowing with light rushed down toward Bloodwraith again, its mana consuming the trees in its way. But though the giant Keeper was monstrously powerful, its size had decreased its speed by an equal amount. Bloodwraith easily leapt up on top of the Keeper's arm and ran up the side of it.

  When the Keeper's other arm crossed his giant body, aiming to swat him, Bloodwraith leapt into the air. He struck the Keeper in the forehead, driving his greatsword directly into the massive skull and releasing a burst of force. The shockwave tore into the Keeper's mind and it began to collapse into fragments of light. Though he couldn't land smoothly, Bloodwraith crashed to the ground with a satisfied smile.

  As he got up, he concentrated enough for his box to appear again. Now he only needed just under 200,000 EXP to reach Level 20. There were no announcements, but his number was slowly creeping up over time and it had just jumped by over 20,000 when he killed the Keeper.

  "Fool!" The Keeper's voice boomed out and the hooded old man emerged unharmed from the remnants of glowing light. His body began to swell again as he drew off the prison's power. "I am the Keeper and my death is only the beginning! Killing me means nothing!"

  "Oh yeah? Well I'll just have to kill you until you stay dead!" Bloodwraith gave a barbarian roar, but inside his helm he was grinning. If he had received EXP from temporarily killing the Keeper once, then he was certain that he would receive it again. All he had to do was pretend to be an idiot and keep fighting.

  Though the Keeper was more cautious in the second battle, he was still slow. And truthfully, he was neither smart or skilled. Bloodwraith couldn't decide if he felt scorn or pity: the Keeper was just an artificial creation of the box gods, an automaton designed to fulfill a few simple roles. This giant form might seem dramatic, but its power was useless when wielded so clumsily.

  Soon enough, Bloodwraith managed to cut through the Keeper's neck. The giant clutched his throat as light began to gush from it and soon the entire form dissolved into fragments of light. Bloodwraith landed back on the ground, checking his box again. Only 155,000 EXP remaining now. Repeating this eight times would be too many, but-

  Even as he watched, the box suddenly dropped to under 65,000 EXP until Level 20. Bloodwraith stared in surprise before realizing that one of his allies must have defeated a truly powerful opponent, to be worth so much even without all his benefits. If his allies continued fighting that way, then it wouldn't take him long at all.

  When another box appeared, Bloodwraith read it eagerly.

  [Undead Companion "Izilthor" wants to spend Necromancy Points on the following trait:

  Da, Help Me!

  Cost: 1 NP

  Da it's dark and it hurts and I'm so hungry and it hurts and I can't... I can't...

  NOTE: This trait appears to be fundamentally broken and will not provide any benefit.]

  Bloodwraith stared
at the box in horror. What could be happening to Izzy, for her to send him such a terrified message? His body began to move back toward the forest to help her, but he realized that was foolish. Not only did he have no idea where she was, she was most likely too far away to help.

  No, if he was going to help his daughter, he needed to do it via the boxes. He started by spending some Necromancy Points on her Health, hoping that the surge of power would help comfort her. Then when she was thinking clearly, she could send him requests for what she needed. She had plenty of NP available, so she should be able to-

  All the boxes vanished. Bloodwraith tried to call them back, but it was like pushing against a wall.

  "I see what you're doing." Behind him the Keeper rose back to life, but the voice coming from his mouth was not the old man's - it was Alan. "You're intentionally killing him repeatedly to harvest the EXP. That's clever, but I won't allow it."

  Turning on him, Bloodwraith wanted to shout at him to shut up, that it didn't matter compared to helping Izzy. But it would do no good to say that and Alan might even be responsible for hurting her. Bloodwraith threw his will against the boxes again, but though they appeared for a moment, Alan raised the Keeper's hand and the connection slammed shut.

  "I may not be able to take the power from you, but don't underestimate what I can do when pressed." The Keeper began walking closer to him, his body moving like a puppet. "You haven't seen the worst Earth has to offer. Stop this senseless struggling."

  "Shut up!" Bloodwraith swung his sword at the Keeper with an arc of force - not to harm him, just to throw him off. "I don't care about that!"

  His words seemed to surprise Alan for a moment and Bloodwraith managed to wrench open the boxes again. He could see Izzy's box and saw that her Health was rapidly decreasing. Even as he watched, another box appeared:

  [Da, Plea-]

  The boxes vanished before he could finish reading. A bolt of light impacted on his armor, knocking him across the forest floor. Alan made the Keeper's body levitate into the air, power gathering in his hands. But Bloodwraith ignored him, gathering his willpower again.